Dark Hearts
by Valentine and Vixen
Summary: After running from her controlling father, Rinoa Heartilly thought that she finally had her freedom. If she only knew that her fate would bring her trapped within the home of a dark hearted vampire... Squinoa, Selvine, Quifer
1. The Dawning of All

**Dark Hearts **

**By Valentine and Vixen**

**Chapter One: The Dawning Of All **

**Authors' Notes: **FIRST PAGE OF OUR FIRST FIC EVER! Now _that_ is something to celebrate about. Please be kind to us first timers. Constructive criticism is very welcome as we need all the advice we can get. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Yeah we don't own it… It's such a sad truth, but a truth nonetheless… Final Fantasy and all their characters belong to Square Enix…

* * *

She was in the middle of a wonderful dream, when the young woman awoke to the brightness of the morning light. She groaned. Why didn't she ever remember to put down the draperies of the window before she slept? Now she was suffering from another unwanted wake up call from cheerful Mr. Sun. Perhaps her habit of stargazing could take the blame for that again.

Still, she would never even consider kicking that habit off. Watching the stars was something she loved to do. For now, she would just have to find a way to remind herself to pull down the curtains before she drifted off to sleep. Or else, wake up before her dreams of valiant knights and angels could end again. And to her, a hanging dream could ruin a peaceful night's slumber in her huge comfortable bed. However, it was then she realized she wasn't in her bed at all, and that she was nowhere near comfortable. For she, Rinoa Heartilly was in a moving car.

The young woman blinked furiously and found that her eyes preferred to remain shut. Grumbling, with the huge amount of effort it took her to adjust to the sun's brightness, she lazily rubbed her sleepy brown eyes and mumbled something about the time.

The young woman seated next to Rinoa laughed softly at the sound of her best friend's grumpy complaints. She was looking at Rinoa from the corner of her blue eyes as she drove, and found Rinoa's morning discomfort funny. "Rinny…" the pretty blonde said to her friend. "…You are so not a morning person." Quistis laughed and continued to put her focus back on the road.

Selphie, who was the youngest of the three, was also watching Rinoa from the back seat of the red convertible. She too found Rinoa's behavior, as something to laugh at since it wasn't the first time she had such a fowl mood. If there was one thing that could get Rinoa agitated, it was when her sleep was cut short.

"You are so right, Quisty." Selphie giggled cheerfully as her emerald eyes scanned her cousin for any sign that she had truly woken up, for Rinoa could also be quite difficult to get out of bed.

Rinoa's, dark hair was all over her face. The natural golden highlights were shining under the sun. By this time, her mind was already half-awake and again, the young sleep-deprived woman mumbled something incoherently. However, this time she was more audible.

"You want a dime?" Selphie raised her eyebrow and giggled as realization kicked in. "Oh I see! She's asking for the time!" Selphie glanced at the blinking green light on the dashboard. "It's 7:08, Rinny," she stated cheerfully.

'7:08'. The numbers slowly registered in Rinoa's head as she finally managed to get an eye open. She had been asleep for five hours since they had left the last city that morning, and were currently heading towards the countryside. Her vision was still slightly blurry but she could somehow make out the shape of Selphie's bouncy brown hair and large green eyes staring at her. Rinoa frowned. It wasn't very appealing to wake up with someone watching your face at such a close distance.

The young woman sat up in her chair and stretched. "Ouch…" She groaned, as she realized she had a nasty cramp throbbing painfully in her neck, making her even more annoyed.

"Rinny? Are you awake now?" Selphie asked.

"Well I am sitting up aren't I?" She snapped, while rubbing the last traces of sleep from her eyes. Rinoa immediately knew she was being mean, despite the fact that all Selphie did was ask her a question. She sighed. Rinoa didn't like it when her sleep got disturbed but she didn't like acting harshly at the people even more. An apology was in order, she knew. "I'm sorry, Selphie." Rinoa said as she tried her best to present her cousin with a smile, "it's just that I had such a nice dream… Well, until it got cut short again."

"I understand." Selphie smiled back. "Besides I'm kinda used to your grumpy moments Rinny." She laughed.

Rinoa looked up at the sky since the top of the convertible was down. She smiled. Never had she seen the sky so beautiful before. The sun was up and she loved the way the blues and the whites of the sky contrasted with each other. Okay, so it didn't exactly look any different than before but it was the first time Rinoa had really _looked_ at sky and appreciated it. To her it was a completely different sky. One that signaled the start of their new lives.

'A free life.' She thought. Taking in a deep breath, Rinoa tried to savor the freshness of the air in her lungs. Her skin felt tingly from the warmth of the sun and the cool of the country breeze as they sped down the empty road. She couldn't help but feel completely exhilarated. It was as if the weather was a materialization of the freedom they felt. The freedom they were so desperate to have was finally theirs and it was all because they had taken a stand and finally reached for it. She smiled again. 'We should have left that place a long time ago.'

* * *

It was only an hour later when Quistis, who had been driving nonstop, finally decided to pass the wheel to someone else. She went to the back seat to sleep, leaving Rinoa and Selphie to figure out who would get to drive next. After much 'debate' (including Rinoa's reminding Selphie what a horrible driver she was) did Rinoa finally get to drive. 

"Humph!" Selphie pouted. Her petite arms were crossed tightly over her chest and occasionally, she repeated the 'humph' sounds as if to remind Rinoa that she was still mad. She had refused to talk to the raven haired girl for the past hour and frankly, Rinoa was impressed that she was able to stay angry for such a long time.

Selphie was incredibly childish for her age and Rinoa was somehow finding the situation funny. She had even smiled at Selphie when she had caught the brunette staring from the corner of her eye.

"Oh come on Selphie!" Rinoa said. "I told you I was sorry."

"Yeah but you're still no fair!" Selphie's tone was angry but Rinoa knew that her friend's anger was fleeting. She smiled as she quickly saw an opening to end their little feud. "Tell you what, after lunch I'll let you drive okay?"

"BOOYAKA!" Selphie almost yelled as she bounced in her seat. "I now forgive you, Rinny! Woohoo!"

Quistis who was still asleep at the back was awoken by the sound of Selphie's hyperactive voice. The truth was, she wasn't really all that tired, and therefore she got up and stretched. "What's all this about?" her voice was still raspy from sleep.

"Hi Quisty, You're awake already? Well, Rinny said she'll let me drive after we get lunch!"

Quistis' blue eyes went large. "Rinoa, you WHAT? Selphie's a horrible driver!"

Selphie frowned. "Hey, I am right here! I can hear you, Quisty!"

"Don't worry about it." Rinoa said, trying to reassure the blonde. "There's no one else on the road and I guess this is the best time for Selphie to get some practice."

"I guess you're right…"

Not long after, Selphie soon began singing her 'train song' and Rinoa turned the radio on to make her stop. Another argument was starting between the two girls at the front and Quistis decided to intervene before it got bad.

"Hey guys, it's almost noon." She said as she realized how high the sun was up already. "Where do we get lunch?"

Rinoa looked at her from the rear-view mirror and thought for a moment. "We could get lunch at the nearest town, wherever that is."

"Yeah…" Selphie voiced. "And I'm starving too! Considering we skipped breakfast and all again…"

"Then everything is settled. We'll just see where this road will take us." Quistis sighed. "In the mean time why don't we do something to pass the time?

Selphie's eyes lit. "How bout I spy?"

Rinoa and Quistis sighed…

* * *

Selphie's stomach was starting to get to her. It had been two hours since they played 'I spy' and since there wasn't much to spy in the middle of nowhere aside from road, tree and more trees, they quickly got tired of it. All three women had just settled into silence and decided to wait patiently for any sign of… anything. However, as time continued to pass, and as their hunger continued to get worse, there still was no sign of any of the local settlements. 

Selphie lost all her vigor from that morning and slouched over the side of the convertible's window. Her stomach loudly demanded to be fed. "Ugh…" she groaned. " At this rate we are gonna starve to death!" she cried dramatically.

Rinoa gave out a deep sigh. So far, it had been her job to reassure the increasing gloom of Selphie, as well as to keep her eyes on the road. "Don't be silly... maybe we are getting close to somewhere by now..." She said sounding hopeful. The truth was, Rinoa was not exactly hopeful, nor was she in the mood to comfort Selphie. Besides, she too was in a slump, all thanks to her complaining stomach. In her situation, cheerfulness was quite hard to keep a hold of even for someone as optimistic as Rinoa.

Meanwhile, Quistis had resolved to distract her own grumbling tummy by watching the trees as they rushed past. She noticed that Rinoa seemed to be picking up speed. She figured that she was trying to quicken the chances that they would reach anywhere they could eat. Right now, she herself felt the urge to eat a large cake, since she had quite a passion for pastries. It would be a caramel cake, topped with shredded chocolate, whipped cream and a cherry. She could almost feel the sweet moist cake and savor its rich texture in her mouth. Quistis sighed loudly. Just then, as she continued to daydream and crave for her pastries, something caught her eye.

It was a small wooden sign. In fact, it was so small and almost completely hidden by the tall pine trees that she was barely able to catch what it said.

As Rinoa blazed past the sign, Quistis' face lit up. "Guys!" she yelled all of a sudden, making Rinoa swerve slightly to the left and Selphie jump in her seat.

"What is it?" Selphie said, curious as to what could possibly be so exciting to her best friend.

"I just saw a road sign." Quistis continued. "It said we are nearing some where called the Black Rose Village!"

* * *

The room was dark as usual, despite the fact that it was just a quarter past eleven in the morning. Then again, in this town, it was always dark. Thick, black curtains prevented the little light from the sun to shine through and illuminate the luxurious Victorian style library. In fact, that was exactly how he preferred it to be. No light, no noise and alone was the way Squall Leonhart had lead his rather long life. He didn't see why he should change his lifestyle, even if there were many who told him to do so. 

Lying on a couch, he silently read a book.

"Cultivating Western Vegetables" Now that was a title not even his recently deceased, crummy old grandmother would pick up, but it didn't matter to Squall at all. For someone as frustrated as he, anything would be worth reading to just pass the time. Sadly for him, he had all the time in the world.

Squall found it hard to sleep properly lately and he knew it was probably due to dehydration. He figured that a boring book would help him get to sleep and so he had grabbed the nearest one from the shelves, laid down, and read. He didn't need the light to see and even if it was pitch black in the room, he could read just as well.

Just then, he felt the presence of three men approaching. He knew exactly who they were for he could feel their distinct energies a mile away. Besides, they were the only others whom he shared the estate with.

Squall frowned. "There goes my solitude."

The three men were close by now; for Squall's heightened sense of hearing deciphered that they were on their way up the stairs.

"Maybe I can still stop them." He figured, and quickly sent a wave of force with his mind, aimed directly at his companions. Immediately he heard voices curse and swear from down the hall. It was probably just Irvine and Seifer, Squall thought.

Squall knew the force he sent to their brains wouldn't really hurt them but would be enough to make others heed the warning. However, those three weren't like others. They would always find a way to disrupt his privacy, he thought. Besides, Squall knew that they were planning to talk about something important, so they wouldn't just allow him to shoo them away. Still, it was worth trying.

"Hey Squall!" an irritated voice that Squall recognized as Irvine's echoed from the other side of the door. Forcefully, it was pushed open and in walked a tall man dressed in his usual cowboy outfit.

'They seem angry.' Squall thought as Irvine stomped around noisily.

"That HURT!" Irvine frowned, obviously displeased with Squall's earlier greeting.

"Well that was the point." Squall said with a shrug. He was still lying on his back with the book in his hand. He had not even bothered to look up at the angry cowboy.

Standing next to Irvine was the even taller Seifer who was also looking at Squall with just as much anger. "Damn you, Squall. What you did wasn't necessary."

Zell, a blonde with spiky hair, who was also the last to enter, smiled as he watched his two friends' anger double at Squall's unapologetic demeanor.

After a series of gory threats from Seifer and Irvine, Squall finally looked up at the two men peering down at him, their eyes, seeing perfectly in the dark as well. He sat up, put the book down, and sighed. "I know what you came here to tell me." Despite the fact that he was abruptly changing the subject, Squall's words suddenly made the situation more serious.

Seifer took a seat on a nearby chair and Irvine and Zell did the same.

"So you feel them too huh?" Seifer said. "It's been a year and a half since we had 'guests' here."

Irvine nodded all too knowingly. "The truth is I can't wait either. I'm so sick of animal blood. They taste so bland and it runs too thinly. The blood of humans... young women... now that's what I miss the most."

Squall closed his eyes. "Young blood..." he whispered to himself, remembering the feel of the dark crimson liquid as it ran down his throat. The three of them sat in silence for a while, remembering when they had their last pleasant 'meal' with great craving.

Zell who had remained silent the whole time finally spoke out. "Squall we have to act quickly, before we get any weaker."

"I know." Squall said then turned to Seifer who would handle the first stage of their usual plan. "Well...You know what to do."

Without a word, Seifer stood up and walked towards the door. He knew exactly what to do. Already the smell of blood was getting stronger and stronger by the minute and he could feel his drive strengthen as well. Irvine was right, he thought. It had been so long.

"Way too long..." he whispered before finally leaving the room.

Irvine looked at Squall. "All we have to do now is to wait for him to bring _them_ here. There are three of them, right? And since Zell was the last to get flesh it's now _our_ turn." He said as he reclined in his seat and used his hands as a pillow.

Squall watched Irvine with cold blue eyes and with a push of his mind he sent Irvine falling off the chair. Squall smiled evilly.

Irvine immediately stood up and frowned. "Alright, alright! I'm leaving!" he yelled and stormed out of the room.

Slowly, Squall turned to the last person who was still with him. And as their eyes met, Zell was smart enough to dash out before Squall could say a word. Or worse, turn his brains into mush.

As soon as Irvine and Zell left, Squall laid back down on the couch. "Alone at last." He mumbled and closed his eyes, finally able to drift off to sleep.

* * *

Seifer ran as fast as he possibly could, and in this form his speed was inhuman. The trees were beginning to blur and the wind was cool against him. He loved being out in the forest where his strong sense of smell picked up easily on the different scents of nature. Seifer took in a long deep breath and stopped. 

There it was, the sweet scent of three young women was hidden amidst the scent of autumn but he detected it immediately. 'They are close now.' he thought as he continued to run towards the village.

Thinking about them made Seifer lick his teeth. "So close." All he had to do now was to patiently wait for them to appear and he would begin their carefully planned strategy.

His adrenaline began to pump in his veins as the thrill of being in hunt started to kick in. Although he wasn't exactly going out for a kill already, the anticipation of knowing that he would soon be able to taste sweet young blood was enough to get him anxious.

However, Seifer knew that there was much to do before anyone did any eating. After all, they still had to check if any of them was _the_ _one._ It would take a lot of effort especially on his part, but he wasn't exactly complaining.

Since vampires were quite squirmy (as he'd like to put it) when underneath sunlight, Squall and Irvine had to wait in the mansion patiently until they got stronger or at least until the sun was hidden behind the thick clouds.

Zell on the other hand, was assigned to a different job. That meant that the task of collecting was left entirely upon him. The truth was, Seifer didn't really mind the chore...Besides Lycans love to hunt.

* * *

**Authors' Notes: **Whew!! Are first chapters really this hard to start? I mean things are going at such a slow pace for us. Also we're concern that the characters might be OOC. Please tell us what you think.. Like we said before, constructive criticism is very welcome. Now for just a little something about this story before we go… We've decided to depict vampires and Lycans in a slightly different way. You'll see when the plot starts kicking off… At some points, they actually seem less like vampires and Lycans to us and more like…uhh something else. Thanks for reading. 


	2. Black Roses

**Dark Hearts **

**By Valentine and Vixen**

**Chapter Two: Black Roses**

**Author's Notes: **We got excited about this, so here's chapter two. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Final Fantasy VIII belongs to Square Enix and not us… sadly.

* * *

"That sign was a liar…." Quistis mumbled to herself. 

They had been on the road for an hour since she had spotted the sign saying that they were approaching some local village. Yet, still nothing was around.

Selphie had started playing with her hair at the backseat while Rinoa, had resolved to singing her late mother's song. Yet as bored, tired and hungry as they were, all three of them were somehow able to keep their patience. Luckily for them, their patience was about to pay off.

"Guys, look over there." Rinoa's voice cut through the silence, which led Quistis to look ahead.

There was a fork on the road.

"Right or left?" Rinoa said, biting her lip in thought.

"How bout 'Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Moe'?" came Selphie's childish suggestion, and her two friends gave a collective sigh again.

After a moment's thought, and a little discussion of their options, did Rinoa finally decide to just go with her instinct. Of course, she had to ask her friends if they agreed with her first. Now, to Selphie and Quistis, Rinoa's instinct was not something quite trustworthy for the young girl could be rather brash. However, they also knew that without Rinoa's recklessness, their lives would be much more boring.

Quistis sighed. Was she really going to do this? Sometimes, she figured that she loved her friends _way_ too much…"Go wherever you want, Rinny. Besides, at this rate we have no idea where it will take us anyway, so we might as well take a chance."

"Yeah, Quisty is right. Besides, we won't blame it on you if we get lost and die in the middle of nowhere." Selphie said cheerfully.

Rinoa frowned. 'Great. No pressure there, Selphie.'

For some reason, Rinoa felt totally compelled to go towards the left path over the right, as if something had been pulling her there. She had been feeling this way since she saw the fork on the road. Yet, at the same time, she could not shake the alarm in her head that warned her against the very same path. Rinoa wasn't sure if her two friends felt it, but she clearly knew that there was something off as they approached the village.

Ever since Quistis had pointed out that they were finally getting somewhere, changes began to take place with the weather, although faintly.

Over the past hour, the closer they got to the village, the darker it became. The sun was no longer bright but was almost completely hidden behind unmoving gray clouds. It also seemed as if it would be raining soon with the fog that slowly came out of nowhere. Cold air began to replace the cool comfort of earlier, and eventually they had to take out their jackets. To her, everything felt suddenly eerie. However, despite all the uneasiness that she felt, not once did the drive to follow the left path waver.

As Rinoa thought and thought, the fork was soon right in her face and she had to make the decision. Against all warnings, she led the car left. Why? Because she didn't want to waste her new found freedom doing all the safe things. She knew that for them to be able to make the most of life, sometimes they would just have to take the risk. No matter what would happen from here, she would **not** regret.

Before long, they finally reached the entrance of the small town. There it was… 'Welcome to Black Rose Village' was engraved on the town's main entrance. Looking around, the three young women noticed that it was a quaint little town with smooth dirt streets large enough for only one lane. The houses were modest with an overall European countryside theme, yet the place seemed completely deserted. Not far from the entrance was a small diner. The young women wordlessly looked at each other and knew that _that_ was their first stop.

"Where are all the people?" Rinoa said as she parked the car, and the three of them got out to look around. "This place is soooo spooky…"

"…Not to mention freezing." Quistis said and shrugged as she rubbed her arms, for the cold air gave her skin goose bumps. It was only fall, yet in this village it felt like winter was upon them already.

Quickly, Selphie then raced up ahead towards the diner and peered into its door. "Hello? Is anyone there?" She said as she tapped her knuckles against the cold glass.

Suddenly, an old man appeared in right in front of Selphie which caught her completely by surprise. Selphie jumped down and joined her friends while the old man came out of the diner and slowly limped towards them, all the while using a shotgun as a walking cane.

He frowned, with his small beady eyes looking over the three visitors. "What're ye folk doin' in these ere' parts. Don't ye know tis dangerous ere'?" He said in an intimidating hoarse voice.

Quistis stepped up to face the old man, unfazed by his strange behavior. "Sorry to bother you, Sir, but we're very hungry. We were just wondering if we could get some lunch, then we'll be going."

"Ye won't be goin' nowhere once they've got ye. Them monsters." The old man said with an air of gloom in his voice. Anger seemed to swell up in him as he lapsed into deep thought. He gritted his rotten teeth and without warning, he aimed his gun at the unsuspecting young ladies. "It be best if I me-self finish ye off before they do. Don't ye worry. I'll make yer passin' quick."

It took a second for the girls to realize what the old man intended to do and by the time they figured out that he was serious, the old man had already pulled the trigger. All they could do was to shut their eyes tight, having no time to react. However, just as the deafening sound of the gun erupted in the air, the old man began to scream.

To their surprise, a large white dog had come to their rescue.

The old man had immediately turned pale as the dog deflected his shot, grabbed the shotgun from him, and violently shook the weapon. The man panicked and continued to scream with immense fear in his voice and rushed back into the diner. "That dog! It be the demon dog! Run fer yer lives!"

Unsure of what just happened, the young women found themselves left with mixed emotions. They had quite a scare and now they were unsure if they were facing a creature which they owed their lives, or one that would attack them next. One thing was for sure though… This dog suddenly didn't look much like a dog anymore. Nope, it was far too big…

"Should we run?" Quistis whispered with caution.

"I don't know… If we do it might come after us."

"But Selphie, if it wanted to hurt us, it probably would've done so a long time ago. Look at it. It's just staring at us…" Rinoa said and frowned. _Then again… it kinda looks more like its staring at my chest… _

* * *

_Wow_. That was the only word which registered in Seifer's happy mind, as he stared up at the three young women. _These girls are HOT._ Slowly he let his green eyes trace up their flawless legs to the curves of their chests, one by one, and he grinned. _Thank God I'm a Lycan…_ He grinned again before he slowly approached.

* * *

"It's coming closer!" Selphie shrieked as the animal took a step in their direction, its white fur suddenly looking incredibly soft to her twitching fingers. "Hey guys…It seems friendly… Can I pet?"

"Selphie! We're not even sure if it's a dog. It looks too big to me. I bet it's a wolf."

"Aww come on, Quisty," Rinoa begged, joining her fellow dog lover, Selphie. "Besides, it's cute and you **know** you want to pet it too."

Seifer snickered. _That's right, babe. You **know** you want to pet me too._

Without further approval from the logic-driven blonde, Selphie and Rinoa began to pet the animal. And it looked like it was having just as much fun as they were.

Quistis sighed and she finally gave in. "Fine! If it bites off your arms, don't come crawling back to me. Understood?"

"Booyaka!"

"Alrighty!"

Seifer rolled on his back, giving the girls full access to his belly. _Wait til the guys hear about this!_ He mocked, thinking on how the womanizing Irvine would react. Zell on the other hand would probably just cry like a wuss and Squall would pretend like he didn't care.

_Ha! He would probably tell me off for taking the job lightly or something like that._ As much as he had fun being fawned over by two beautiful girls, Seifer knew his priorities. Therefore, he planned his next move.

Looking at the young women, he noticed that one of them wore a silver necklace with a ring in the center. _Perfect_.

_Sorry bout this babe_. Quickly, he lunged and grabbed a hold on the unsuspecting girl's jewelry and ran off deeper into the village.

Rinoa fell on her butt, as the dog latched on and took the most valuable thing to her. Her mother's ring, and without thinking, she ran off after the dog.

"Rinoa! Wait!" Selphie called, but was nonetheless unheard by her frantic friend.

"Selphie, lets get the car and help her." Quistis said, and they began to run for the vehicle.

Soon, they had caught up after the tired Rinoa, who was breathless by the side of the road. Tears were starting to form on her desperate eyes and as she whispered, "…mommy's ring."

"Don't worry, Rinny. We'll get it back. Hop on."

Rinoa gave her blonde friend a nod and did as she was told, silently grateful that her both her friends were there. They didn't have to be, yet they chose to come with her in her rather 'unplanned' journey.

"Thanks…guys… for coming with me…"

"No problem, Rinny." Quistis smiled reassuringly and put her focus on the road. "Now where did that bastard go…"

The young blonde drove as fast as the narrow streets let her. They were slowly gaining on the little thief until it turned on a sharp corner, catching Quistis completely off guard. She had missed the turn and had to back up until they came to where they had last seen the dog.

Suddenly, they weren't quite sure anymore.

"Is this right?" Selphie asked as they realized that it entered through an open gate.

"Well that's where I saw it go through… I'm sure." Quistis said "We might as well follow, since we've gotten this far. Rinny, you, and Selphie open the gates back so the car can get through."

After hurrying through the action, the two girls got back in the car, and they proceeded on their way. The only problem was, beyond the gates, everything else looked different.

Gone were all the houses, replaced by a forest on both sides of the car, gone was the dirt road, replaced by a thick carpet of dead leaves, and worst of all, gone was the dog.

Selphie sighed. "Great… now where do we go?"

"Be patient, Selphie. It's probably in here somewhere. It couldn't have gotten far." Rinoa said determinedly.

Slowly, Quistis drove the car deeper into the forest trail which lucky for them was large enough for the car.

Silence followed. There was suddenly a heavy feel to everything around them and they were now very aware of the fact that everything became dark.

"Uhh…guys? What time is it?" Selphie asked a moment later, completely puzzled.

Quistis glanced at the clock and as she saw the numbers, her blue eyes went wide. _This can't be right_. She thought. "Selphie, its only 3…"

"Whoa…that's odd…maybe the clock's not working." Rinoa's said, with her confusion clear on her face.

Again, silence followed. By this time, the sky was a dark, deep orange and the moon was already visible. Was it really just 3 in the afternoon? It felt more like 6:30 to her.

Rinoa _had_ to check again. And as she did, her brown eyes went wide. "Guys. It's now four…"

A second later…

5pm…then 6…

then 7…

then 8…9…10…11…12…

"Weird..." Rinoa said as she watched the numbers change right before her eyes.

"I'm starting to get creeped out!"

"It's probably just broken."

"Or maybe it was the wind..."

"Selphie! The wind? Seriously..."

"Let's just leave it, alright?"

Selphie slouched over the car's side with her hand dangling over the window. She sighed. _Things are getting so weird here._ _Where are we anyway_? Just then, her emerald eyes caught something in the shadows of the forest. A figure walking in the dark. Suddenly, Selphie heard a low howl.

"Guys, what was that? Don't tell me there are wolves here too!" She squeaked, scurried closer between her friends, and whispered. "I don't want to be here anymore. Let's go back!"

"Neither do I, Selphie. But Mom's ring…"

"We'll be fine." Quistis smiled weakly and reassured her two friends. _Maybe that was just the dog we are after…_ she thought, trying to calm her self down as well. The idea of hungry wolves lurking in the shadows was not something she would be excited about.

After a few moments, things had started to die down and the girls began to relax again. Apparently, the forest trail was quite long. Quistis sighed. She was beginning to give up on this. The dog could be anywhere by now. Just then, their headlights started blinking. She shrugged, but then, it blinked again… and again. Even the wipers had started moving rapidly on their own.

"QUISTIS, STOP DOING THAT!" The younger two yelled.

"I'm sorry, guys! But that wasn't me! It's the car! It probably has some serious problems."

"But it was checked recently before we took it!"

"…maybe it was the wind?"

"SELPHIE!"

Silence followed and lighting flashed. Then… the rain poured **hard**. Suddenly, the car stopped moving... Quistis tried desperately to restart the car, however nothing happened. She tried again and again, yet all her efforts proved futile.

"What the hell is going on?" Quistis said exasperatedly, as she slouched back in her seat. Her logical mind was obviously being tested here, and honestly she was starting to get scared. The blonde looked to her side where Rinoa was seated.

The young raven haired girl had her hand over her heart, the place where her necklace usually settled and immediately, Quistis felt sorry for her friend. It was very important to her and to think that she would lose it was something even Quistis could not bear. They _had_ to keep trying. "Guys, lets go. We can just walk from here."

The three young women got out of the car and began walking. They were all soaked from the rain and their stomachs reminded them that they were still unfed. Unexpectedly, as they got a few feet away from the car, its headlight flashed open and the engine switched on. The car suddenly began rocking back and forth faster with every passing second, before it began backing up away from them.

It took a second for the realization to hit her and instantly, Quistis' blue eyes opened wide. _Oh no…. It's gonna run over us._

"RUN!" She screamed with her voice trembling and loud against the heavy sound of rain.

And all three women ran as fast as they possibly could. None of them dared to look back as they could all hear the angry engine behind them. Adrenaline kicked in and their minds were going blank.

_Someone… Help… _

* * *

Seifer watched silently from the woods and frowned. There they were, driving into the trail. Everything was going according to plan, yet he could feel things were off. His senses knew that something else was there, and he knew exactly what it was. _Oh you're not taking them from us… _he grinned. _I'll make sure of that._

A while later, Seifer's hearing caught the girls talking, panic was now clear in their voice and he could smell their fear rising up. Apparently, something was messing with their clock. _Aha so the Bitch has begun to work. Well, two can play this game._

If she would try scaring them away, he was just going to have to lure them back. A good howl from their 'superhero wolf' would fix everything right? And so, Seifer howled.

The brunette in yellow obviously heard him, but to Seifer's dismay, she only seemed to get more scared and frankly, he could feel that so did the other two.

"Let's go back." He heard one of them say and Seifer immediately cringed._ Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. _

Seifer decided to sit and wait what would take place next and he didn't have to wait long. The car's wipers were moving on their own now, and Seifer could smell that rain was on its way. For a minute there, he almost felt sorry for them and their miserable predicament, but he knew things would only get worse. Next, the car stopped. _It seems like she is serious this time. Only she won't get what she wants._

He watched as the young ladies left the car and began to walk. Seifer knew what was going to happen next as the car began to back up. _Shit. She wants to run them over!_

Now, he knew he had to act quickly.

* * *

This was a nightmare. It had to be. Her legs felt numb and she was freezing from the cold rain. Rinoa could feel her strength leaving her as she drained what was left of her energy to save her life. She felt as if the possessed car was torturing them by making them run so hard for so long before it would take their lives. _Killed by my car… What would Caraway say?_

She looked over at her friends. They were just as tired and scared as she was.

_This can't be it. We were supposed to be free and having fun…_

Just then, her foot slipped on the mud and Rinoa felt her world tumble down as she too began to fall. _No…_

Her crash against the hard floor was something Rinoa barely felt, for the young girl was too busy bracing her self against the larger, more painful impact of metal against human flesh and bone that was still yet to come. However as Rinoa prayed the whole thing to be over, the impact never came.

Rinoa looked up ahead of her and saw her two friends frozen in their tracks, their wide eyes staring back beyond her and towards the car. Rinoa, following her companions' eyes, looked behind her and she was shocked. The car had stopped because of the same white dog.

The large animal stood directly between Rinoa and the red car which strangely stopped moving. It slowly looked back at the terrified girls and began to walk past and ahead of them.

Quistis and Selphie saw the opportunity and rushed back to their fallen friend, helping her to her shaky feet. None of them said anything, but there was an unspoken agreement to follow the dog as it led them onwards in the trail.

Eventually, the dog stopped in front of another gate. However, what astounded them more was not the size of the massive iron-gate, but what lay beyond it.

For on the other side, was a vast clearing, one that was covered with a sea of black roses. And at the center of the field was a large house.

* * *

**Authors' Notes: **First off, did that old dude sound like a pirate or was it just me? Anyway…I felt like the first chapter was boring and dragging? I just read it again and now I'm not quite sure about it…Hopefully, this one is better. It's definitely longer though, but a lot more fun to write. Also, about that 'eeny-meeny' thing…I have no idea how it's really spelt and neither did Vixxy. Anyway, we appreciate all who read. Catch ya guys later! –Valentine 

Hope you enjoyed chapter two. Honestly, I also liked this chapter better than the first one. Hopefully, the next one will be up shortly. See you soon!-Vixen


	3. Trap

**Dark Hearts **

**By Valentine and Vixen**

**Chapter Three: Trap**

**Author's Note: **Hey there. This has been long overdue. Sorry bout that.

**Disclaimer: **We don't own Final Fantasy VIII and its characters.

**

* * *

**

Rinoa blinked again, making sure that what she was seeing was not just in her head. She still felt rather shaken from her previous ordeal, and the truth was, she wasn't certain if she was seeing things right anymore. One thing was for sure though, before her lay the most disturbingly beautiful thing she had ever seen. The roses, every single one of them was a haunting black.

Rinoa was void of any thoughts as she looked past the gate in front of her, her chocolate eyes both seeing and doubting the existence of the house and the black field of roses. What was she to expect next? Everything felt just like an elaborate nightmare and their situation was completely surreal. From the crazy old man who was suddenly trying to kill them, to almost being assassinated by their own car.

_Assassinated?_ Had her father secretly paid the vehicle? Maybe this was all part of his scheme to get her to come home…

Rinoa oddly felt like laughing…_Great. I'm clearly loosing my sanity._

Selphie and Quistis stepped closer to the raven haired girl, who stood directly in front of the massive iron-gates. Scattered vines snaked up the bars, almost completely covering an L-shaped insignia situated at the center. Selphie figured it was probably the emblem of the family, which owned the house since it was typical for the upper-class society to create for their selves an emblem. In fact her family did the same.

Selphie then turned her attention back to Rinoa who was looking past the vine covered bars, with her eyes plastered over the unsettling view.

"I guess we know why this place is called Black Rose Village, huh?" Rinoa quietly said, half to herself, and half to her friends. The strain of the whole day was starting to take its toll on her and on Quistis and Selphie, who were both mildly shivering under the rain.

"Rinoa, we should get shelter before we all get sick." Quistis said as she blew her warm breath onto her hands. However, that did very little to help her warm up. "This house, we could ask the residents to let us in, at least until the rain stops."

"She's right. Anywhere is better than out here!" Selphie wiped her wet bangs from her eyes. "Let's go!"

Rinoa nodded and watched as Selphie and Quistis struggled to open the gates. Just as she was about to give them a hand she felt something cold nudge against her leg.

Looking down, she saw the dog with her necklace still clamped in its jaws. The dog gave off a strange noise before dropping the necklace onto wet ground. Rinoa slowly bent down in front of the creature and picked her muddy necklace up. Looking tiredly at the dog, she smiled.

"Thank you. For giving this back… and for helping us back there." She smiled weakly and rubbed the dog behind its pointed ears. "So, is this where you live?"

The dog replied with a bark and Rinoa chuckled lightly. Sometimes animals could really take away stress and instantly lift her mood. Silently, Rinoa missed her own furry friend back at home. "You know I have a dog at home too. Her name's Angelo. I bet you two could be really good friends."

_I would much rather be friends with **you**._ Seifer snickered in his head.

A loud creak interrupted Rinoa's short, one sided conversation with the large dog and she instantly shifted her eyes to her friends. They had just managed to get the gates to open wide enough for the three of them to get through.

"Whew! That's one heavy gate! They seriously have to get it oiled or something." Selphie said, panting heavily. Her short breaths were barely heard against the steady clash of rain.

"I see you got your ring back, Rinny. I guess that mutt isn't all bad."

Seifer snorted. _Who you calling a Mutt, Blondie?_

"Yup, Quisty. He's alright." Rinoa said looking down to catch a glimpse of the dog standing next to her. It was strange how the white animal seemed to be glaring at Quistis at the moment. Shaking off her thoughts she took a few steps forward. "Let's get going before that car decides to finish turning us into road kill."

**

* * *

**

Irvine's eyes snapped open. The feeling that the sun had finally set behind the horizon was evident but something else had woken him from his dreamless sleep.

Irvine felt the beginnings of a smile tug at his lips.

"They got here pretty quick." He smirked, and quickly got off his bed before making his way towards his large window. As his long legs helped him stride easily across his room, a thought crossed his mind. _I wonder what they look like…_

Irvine leaned against the cold glass of his bedroom window and scanned the field slowly with his far-seeing eyes. There they were, standing unknowingly in front of the already open gate, with Seifer trotting closely behind them. He smiled as he observed the three unsuspecting young women one by one. "Now that's my kind of meal. This is going to be loads of fun…"

**

* * *

**

The flower field was parted down the middle by a cobble stone path, which began roughly from where the tall gates stood. The pathway sloped upwards and the three women hurriedly started walking towards the massive home.

The stone paved road was quite wide and circled around an empty water fountain in front of the house, before it finally lead towards the stairway of the front doors. On the large fountain was a beautiful stone sculpture of a life size mermaid with long beautiful hair. She was holding a harp in her slender fingers and Selphie looked at the beautiful creature in awe. She seemed as if she was singing and Selphie was almost certain that if she'd listen carefully, she would hear its voice erupt in a wonderful song.

Just then, Selphie's eyes were diverted from the fountain, when she caught movement in one of the rooms on the second floor. She blinked, and looked closely at the dark empty looking room. It didn't take long for her to figure that it was just in her mind and so she brought her attention back to the mansion.

She noticed that it wasn't exactly the largest house she had ever seen. In fact her house was much bigger but this was still massive enough to impress any beholder nonetheless. The mansion was a two-story home, which stretched to quite a length. It had an almost Gothic design, which featured colored bricks, stone, and terracotta forming much of its wall structure. The mansion also looked rather unkempt for vines crawled up in many areas. Large windows covered the mansion walls, yet no light shone through any of them. To Selphie, the house looked empty, just like the rest of Back Rose Village.

As if reading her sister's mind, Quistis spoke out. "I don't think anybody is home…"

"We should at least try and knock. After all, we've already gone through the trouble of walking all the way here. So we might as well try, right?" Rinoa said and strode up the steps. She knocked but when no reply came, she decided to try and see if the house was locked. As soon as her fingers touched the knobs on the twin doors, they swung open. Rinoa quickly brought her had back, her brown eyes shocked. _That was so weird… I didn't even turn the knob yet._

Slowly the three of them peered into the darkness of the house, and to their surprise the dog was already inside, sleeping peacefully upon the carpet. The dog's head perked up briefly when it heard them approach before it sauntered away into the shadows of a different room. They hadn't even noticed that it had left their side before and it was a complete mystery to them on how the dog managed to get inside the house before they did. The three of them just assumed that he knew his way around the house and left it at that.

Rinoa entered the room first, but to her dismay it was much too dark to see anything, save for the dark silhouette of the furniture around her. "Hello?" she hesitantly called out into the darkness. "Anyone home?"

Quistis by then had managed to wander off to the other side of the room, where she found a switch on the wall. As her delicate fingers pressed the switch, warm yellow light flooded into the room from a large crystal chandelier on the ceiling of the living room.

The young women looked around them and found that they were surrounded by elegant, Victorian furniture. The design of the room was obviously from classical influence and highly exquisite, with much of the refined furniture made from dark scarlet fabrics and dark wood. The overall design gave the house a more expensive but gothic appeal. Selphie frowned. "Ugh… This place is soo not my type."

Standing in the middle of the large extravagant room, Selphie, Rinoa and Quistis couldn't help but feel apprehensive. There was no one home, but the place was clean and well kept unlike the exterior of the manor. The coldness was beginning to numb and strangely, it was much colder inside than being out in the open. There was also an undeniable thick aura of darkness in the room that none of them bothered to point out.

Quistis decided to light fireplace and the three of them proceeded to sit down on the couch in front of it.

"You know guys… We are pretty rude." Rinoa said nervously out the blue, after the three of them got as comfortable as they could despite their uneasiness. "I mean we are trespassing on some rich family's mansion, in the middle of the woods of a deserted village and relaxing on their couch while using their fireplace."

Selphie half giggled at the mouthful of words that Rinoa had managed to say subconsciously in one breath, as she tried to find a lighter side to their predicament. Sadly that was proving rather hard to do. "Well we can't help it." She sighed. "We got lost and now it's too dark to be on the road. I think we have to stay the night here. We'll just have to apologize when they get home."

"Selphie's right, you know." Quistis yawned and slowly felt her eyes get heavy. It was strange that she suddenly felt lethargic after being wide awake only moments before. But as usual, she reasoned it was only due to fatigue. After all, who wouldn't be as tired as she felt after the long day that they had? "Guys…" She said drowsily. "Lets just get some sleep and leave this strange place first thing in the morning alright?"

It was not long after that, the three girls drifted peacefully off to sleep. Not knowing of the approaching danger which took the form of four handsome men.

**

* * *

**

Seifer. Zell and Irvine watched calmly from the shadows as the three young women finally dozed off after Irvine had induced their minds to sleep. The three of them were amused with the fact they were such easy prey. With silent footsteps they walked up to where the women slept carelessly and vulnerably on the large couch.

Zell scratched his head, "You brought them here in record time."

"Well they weren't exactly hard to lead. These three are naturally curious anyway." Seifer shrugged.

Although Seifer was pleased with himself for leading them effortlessly and quickly into the mansion, he knew that it was only possible because the trio had complied to be manipulated so easily without even knowing it. Most of the women whom they had taken into the mansion were so apprehensive that it took them a lot of coaxing before they settled with the idea of going into the house. Their lair was oozing with so much darkness and eeriness that would frighten anything and everything away. These three were very brave, clueless, or just plain stupid.

"Where's Squall? They haven't seen the prize we got for ourselves this time." Seifer snorted.

"I'm right here." Squall said as he emerged from the shadows as if on cue. His cold blue eyes rested over the figures laid on the couch.

Irvine smiled as he casually approached the girls, followed by the other three. "You know, they are definitely the best looking batch we've ever had. Right, Squall?" he said and nudged Squall with his elbow.

"Whatever."

Irvine rolled his eyes at Squall's indifference and turned his attention back on the girls. He could see now that they were indeed much more beautiful than he had originally thought and he was thrilled by that concept. But there was something else that intrigued him, something that he couldn't quite point out yet. It was a good thing that he had plenty of time to think that over, now that the girls were trapped. Right now, he had more important things to do. _Time to take my pick._

Seifer could see the look Irvine had as he scrutinized each girl one by one. He felt his own instincts take over and he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Irvine." Seifer called out. "The blonde is mine."

Seifer was looking intensely at him and Irvine frowned. There was a sudden heavy change in the atmosphere and the situation started to get tense. He knew that they were already getting possessive but he never seen Seifer act on it that much in the two hundred years that they had known each other, and he secretly wondered what it was that the Lycan saw in the blonde girl. Irvine's green eyes shifted towards her for a moment and Irvine smiled. Calmly he looked back at Seifer. "Don't worry, man. She's all yours. Besides…" Irvine said and moved over the brunette in the short yellow dress. "…This one is more my type."

Irvine grinned darkly as he reached out to touch Selphie's sleeping innocent face. Just then, a hand grabbed his wrist in a tight grip. Irvine looked up to find Squall's eyes looking harshly at him.

"NO touching. Not yet." Squall's commanding voice said. He then released his grip on Irvine and disappeared back into the shadows.

"Geez! What a grouch!" Irvine said as he looked back at the brunette. Again, he reached over to touch her.

"IRVINE!" Squall's voice boomed inside Irvine's head and quickly Irvine cringed and held his temples, hoping to quell the pain. "Stop doing that Squall!" He internally yelled back.

Seifer didn't have to hear to know what was going on and he smirked. "Serves you right…"

"What did you say, Seifer? For all I know you are gonna cuddle right next to Blondie over there when I leave!" Irvine muttered before storming into the dark. Zell sighed and left as well.

Alone in the room, Seifer smiled. "Hmm…I might just do that." He whispered and quickly took his wolf form before settling himself by Quistis side. It felt strange to sleep comfortably next to someone he knew he could be killing soon but what could he do; he found the scent of her skin relaxing. After all the running he did, couldn't he at least get a reward at the end of the day? With that last thought, he fell asleep.


End file.
